The one thing that makes Eloise Wellings run faster

For starters, we definitely don’t want to be competing against her when it comes to running.

Not only is she a two-time Olympian athlete, but she’s also competed in three Commonwealth Games and major races all over the world. To make you feel even more intimidated, in 2016 at the Rio Olympics, she recorded the best ever Olympic result by an Australian in the women’s 10, 000 final. Yep, she’s bloody amazing.

Now fast-forward to 2018, and she admits that she has a new secret weapon that helps her run better: her four-year-old daughter.

“Being a mum has definitely helped me to relax and be more flexible with training, and I think I’m just happier and feel more content, and if you’re more content and relaxed then you’re more likely to run better,” Eloise tells myBodyandSoul.com.au.

“When you have the whole pressure of having the feeling like you’re going to die in a race, your brain isn’t comfortable with coming up with anything new to be able to cope with that pain, so you have to practice in training how you’re going to shut down the negative self-talk or anything that’s going to try and get your body to stop or slow down.”

“I’m much more relaxed about running and the result as well because you know there are more important things in life. I love the fact that she doesn’t care about running, she just enjoys hanging out and waiting to get an ice cream after a race.”

However, this doesn’t mean she’s done a 360 degree turnover and has become as relaxed as us.

No, she doesn’t have a gym membership that is hardly ever used, her weekends aren’t spent on the couch binge watching Netflix, and no, she doesn’t order takeaway majority of the nights.

In fact, she admits that when she’s in training season (FYI that’s all year-round except for 10 days in September and 10 days during Christmas time), she trains two to three times a day for six days. Yep, she only has a day off – yikes.

The superwoman mixes in altitude training with her regular runs to help improve her endurance, and is currently in complete beast-mode preparing for the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

“At the moment it’s very intense, but certainly in the week or 10 days prior to the Commonwealth Games, the intensity will drop right back so that we can freshen up and make sure our energy levels are high.

“I feel like I’ve been so close to being on the podium so this year I definitely want to go one better than what I’ve done before and get on the podium.”

And like any professional athlete, intense training comes with an extremely strict diet and a hell lot of self-control.

She starts the day off with muesli, banana and yoghurt before working out, then a protein recovery shake afterwards.

For lunch, it’s two sandwiches or a carb-based salad, followed by more muesli or a protein bar for afternoon tea before her second workout. And to finish off the day, her dinner involves some type of low-GI carb, protein and a salad.

Yes, she’s got amazing willpower to stick to a clean AF diet, but she admits that she definitely rewards herself after every race.

“I give myself 24 hours after every race to eat whatever I want so I’ll have a pizza and ice cream almost every time.”

Sounds like a normal weekly meal to us, but hey, we’re not some amazing record-holding athlete.

Think running is boring? Here are some tips and tricks that’ll help change your mind. You’ll also want to know exactly what happens to your body when you go for a run.

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